Kirkus Indie Awards Judges

HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY
2026

Renee Fountain

Renee C. Fountain is a publishing industry veteran, having held positions at Harcourt and Simon & Schuster, where she worked with some of the best authors and illustrators in the world, as well as brokering film and television options. Renee is an Indie nonfiction reviewer for Kirkus and president of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management. Previously, she spent five years with the CW Network as a book scout and story analyst for scripted television. She lives in New York. 

MEMOIR

Kaliisha Cole

Kaliisha Cole (she/her) is the Bookstore Manager and a co-owner of Porter Square Books: Cambridge Edition. She has been a bookseller for three years. Some of her favorite memoirs include raw, emotional gut punches, celebrity accounts, relationship stories, and solid storytelling. You may also know her for her Bookstagram, Kali's Bookish Rambles. She lives with her husband in Massachusetts.

LITERARY FICTION

Lauren Emily Whalen

Lauren Emily Whalen is an Indie reviewer for Kirkus. She is the author of four published novels and three full-length nonfiction books, including I Heart Jennifer Coolidge, which paid off her student loans. Lauren is an alumna of the National Critics Institute and a regular contributor to 1 Minute Critic and BookPage. Her short story “Just Another Friday Night in Bucktown,” part of Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories, was praised in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Reader. Lauren lives in Chicago. 

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS

Donald Liebenson

Donald Liebenson is a Chicago-based reviewer for Kirkus. He writes about books and profiles authors for the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, the Saturday Evening Post, and other outlets. 

SF/FANTASY

Sylvain Neuvel

Sylvain Neuvel dropped out of high school at age 15. Along the way, he has been a journalist, worked in soil decontamination, and sold ice cream in California and furniture across Canada. He received a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago. He has taught linguistics in India and worked as a software engineer in Montreal. He’s also a certified translator, though he wishes he were an astronaut. He absolutely loves toys; his girlfriend would have him believe that he has too many, so he writes about aliens and giant robots as a blatant excuse to build action figures (for his son, of course). His debut, Sleeping Giants, was described by NPR as “one of the most promising series kickoffs in recent memory.” 

ROMANCE

Mandy Malone

Mandy Malone is a technical services librarian at the Williamsburg Regional Library in Williamsburg, Virginia, and a longtime reviewer for Kirkus Indie. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree from Hollins University. She previously worked at the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia, where she wrote “The Book Corner,” a weekly column highlighting books by local authors. 

PICTURE BOOK

Hannah Sheldon-Dean

Hannah Sheldon-Dean is a former reviewer for Kirkus Indie and the author of more than a dozen books for young readers. She’s the winner of the 2025 Emerging Voices Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and was longlisted for the 2026 Bath Children’s Novel Award. In her day job, she’s a content strategist who makes digital government services more equitable and accessible. 

CHILDREN'S LIT

Lexie Bean

Lexie Bean is a trans multimedia artist who started in self-publishing and tour organizing. For 15+ years, they’ve generated events, writings, books, and poetry-based short films, often focused on fellow trans childhood sexual abuse survivors. They’ve organized 120+ relevant events, trainings, and panels. They’re a Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Written on the Body, a Jerome Hill alum, and a Tin House alum. Lexie wrote the Kirkus-starred, #OwnVoices middle-grade novel The Ship We Built, now in development as a stop-motion feature film. Lexie’s work has been featured in magazines including Teen Vogue and Ms., as well as several anthologies, like Surviving Transphobia. What Will I Become? Lexie’s award-winning co-directed debut feature documentary, is coming soon to U.S. public television. 
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